"Game theory models are ubiquitous in economics, common in
political science, and increasingly used in psychology and
sociology; in evolutionary biology, they offer compelling
explanations for competition in nature. But game theory has been
only sporadically applied to the humanities; indeed, we almost
never associate mathematical calculations of strategic choice with
the worlds of literature, history, and philosophy.

And yet, as Steven Brams shows, game theory can illuminate the
rational choices made by characters in texts ranging from the Bible
to Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and can explicate strategic questions
in law, history, and philosophy. Much of Brams's analysis is based
on the theory of moves (TOM), which is grounded in game theory, and
which he develops gradually and applies systematically throughout.
TOM illuminates the dynamics of player choices, including their
misperceptions, deceptions, and uses of different kinds of
power.

Brams examines such topics as the outcome and payoff matrix of
Pascal's wager on the existence of God; the strategic games played
by presidents and Supreme Court justices; and how information was
slowly uncovered in the game played by Hamlet and Claudius. The
reader gains not just new insights into the actions of certain
literary and historical characters but also a larger strategic
perspective on the choices that make us human."